Terry Cloth

a coarse cotton fabric woven with a pile surface. It is used for towels, bathrobes, bathroom rugs, and a variety of domestic purposes. In weaving, two systems of warp threads are used,--the ground warp and the pile warp. The latter is so arranged as to be easily slackened at the will of the operator. Two wefts are inserted and beaten up, which means that they are pushed close by the action of the reed, a sort of frame with parallel flat strips of metal which pass between the warp threads. Two wefts are next inserted which are left without "beating up." The pile warp threads are slackened, two more wefts inserted, and the four loose wefts beaten up together, taking with them the slack warps in loops, more or less irregular, on both sides. This process is continued throughout the piece. Terry cloth was invented by an Englishman, Samuel Holt, about 1848. Turkish towels, which are made in the same manner as terry cloth, were first manufactured in 1855. The first Turkish towel was presented to Queen Victoria, who expressed her approval by rewarding Holt with a medal. The name Turkish is given to these towels because large numbers of them were shipped to Turkey where they were and are immensely popular. The name terry is given also to a variety of carpets, which in reality is distinguished from ingrain only by the fact that it is made in plain colors. Terry carpet is made of cotton or wool. It is used chiefly as a border where rugs form the principal floor covering. Terry velvet is a velvet which is not sheared, that is, the pile is left in loops on the surface, instead of being cut as usual. See Pile Fabrics; Velvet; Carpet

Tertullian (150-230), a celebrated ecclesiastical writer. He is one of the noted fathers of the church. Tertullian was a native of Carthage, but he was of Roman descent. He lived at a time when Christianity and paganism were contending for the control of the civilized world. Tertullian was converted to Christianity and lived for a part of the time at Rome. He wrote a number of works, all in Latin. The most noted perhaps was a defense of Christianity, being an argument in favor of Christianity versus paganism. Other volumes treated of martyrdom, baptism, public games, marriage, patience, taking the veil, etc. Aside from his service to the world in establishing Christianity, the historian values Tertullian's writings for the light they throw on the family and political life of his time.